A and S — Christmas in July with A and S!

This Sunday, July 1st, is the Christmas in July martial practice at 14 Quail Run, Allison Park PA 15101. (It’s about 15 minutes from Washington Blvd up Route 28 to the Harmar exit, then west on Route 910). Your host is Jasmine of Tarn Clan, our Barony Youth Combat Marshal.

A & S will be occurring throughout the day:

1 PM — Lady Alicia de Berwic will be teaching us how to cook over a fire. So useful for Pennsic!

4 PM — Mistress Gwendolyn the Graceful will led a bardic circle around the campfire. You’ll be ready for bardic night at Pennsic.

All day — Master Urho Waltterinen will bring his jigs and other gear and *finally* teach his fletching class. Don’t miss it!

You should bring a chair, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, and stuff. There will be plenty of food and beverages to help Fox celebrate his birthday and Christmas in July!

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

See you there!
Elss Augsburg

A and S — It’s Christmas in July! — Sunday, July 1

This Sunday, July 1st, is the Christmas in July martial practice at 14 Quail Run, Allison Park PA 15101. (It’s about 15 minutes from Washington Blvd up Route 28 to the Harmar exit, then west on Route 910). Your host is Jasmine of Tarn Clan, our Barony Youth Combat Marshal.

A & S will be occurring throughout the day:

1 PM — Lady Alicia de Berwic will be teaching us how to cook over a fire. So useful for Pennsic!

4 PM — Mistress Gwendolyn the Graceful will led a bardic circle around the campfire. You’ll be ready for bardic night at Pennsic.

All day — Master Urho Waltterinen will bring his jigs and other gear and *finally* teach his fletching class. Don’t miss it!

You should bring a chair, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, and stuff. There will be plenty of food and beverages to help Fox celebrate his birthday and Christmas in July!

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

See you there!
Elss Augsburg

A and S — Fletching — Sunday, June 24th @ 12:30 !!

FLETCHING!

Weather is happening, yes, it may rain (shocking, I know); if it does, we will cancel this week’s A&S. Call me for verification if you wish, I will also post on FB.

FLETCHING!
Sunday is A&S in BMDL, and this week’s class is on modern fletching, and will be taught by Master Urho Waltterinen. This is only the second time that Urho has taught for us, so please take advantage of this rare opportunity. Because this is a time-consuming process, as we must wait for the glue to dry, we are starting a little earlier than usual at 12:30. All of the jigs, glue, shafts, feathers and all the other things will be brought for us to learn on. Thanks, Urho!!

Location: Washington Boulevard martial practice site
Address: Allegheny River Blvd and Washington Blvd.
Directions: http://www.debatablelands.org/martial/fight_directions.php
Time: 12:30 PM.  Weather permitting!

Standard disclaimers here:

We are now accessible to our less mobile friends, have free parking, and a pet-friendly site. Yay!

However, keep in mind that you should bring everything you need for your comfort including a chair, a beverage or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, cabana boy, rain boots, scuba suit, etc., etc., etc. Also, the site has a porta-john and no running water should you wish to make appropriate preparation.

I will have a table and a jug of water so that you can refill your water bottles or mugs.

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Thank you for asking! These meetings are free and there is no materials charge, as we are generously supported by the Barony and the teachers themselves.

It's the Art-Signal! Quick, to the Science-Mobile!
Arts & Sciences Meeting

 

Hope to see you there,
Elss Augsburg

A and S — Iron Comet Includes A and S

By now, you have probably heard that the Iron Comet Challenge, which is on June 23rd, requires participation in three martial categories AND the A&S competition.

You have a great A&S entry, but you wouldn’t mind making a tiny bit of effort to impress the judges, right? You can use all the help you can get, right?

Documentation!

Yep, documentation is a quick way to up your score, and I am here to tell you how to do it easily.

Idea #0

You should do this no matter what. On a nice whole clean sheet of paper or a notecard of any size, neatly print what your item is and your name. If you are a young person, write down your age too. Ask your mom or dad, they’ll know if you need this. Here’s what it might look like:

Inkle Woven Dress Decoration
made by Ima Youth (age 10)

Idea #1

If that looks a bit simple to you, you can add detail about your work, like what it is made of, or what gave you the idea to make/do that item.

Here’s what it might look like now:

Inkle Woven Dress Decoration
Pattern #75 from Inkle Weaving by Helene Bress
made by Ima Youth (age 10)

Idea #2

If you did any research about what this thing was like in period, you can include that information too. If you looked at a painting online, or read a book or two to find a recipe, tell the story – where you found the original, what it was made from, how it was made in that time period, everything you learned.

So, in addition to the basic information above, you might include something like this:

I saw a picture of an actual dress from 1410 CE that belonged to Princess Important Lady. It was online at the British Library website at www.bl.uk/princessclothes/754690. There was a beautiful woven band on the neckline of her dress. According to the website, the band was woven of silk, using a method called tablet weaving, in the colors that were right for her heraldry.

Idea #3

Is your thing exactly like the thing you were inspired by? Maybe, but probably not, but that’s OK. To make your documentation more informative, explain the differences between how the item was originally made and what you did. Most importantly, tell why you made the changes.

So, in addition to the information above, you also might include something like this:

To weave the band, I needed both red thread and blue thread. The original string was silk, but silk is very expensive and beyond my budget, so I used Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Cotton, size 10, in Bright Red and Royal Blue. I was able to buy two balls for $5.00 at Pat Catan’s and got enough to complete my project.

Even Better Ideas

If you do not know how to tablet weave, or if you are just learning to weave, that is good information to include, too. Also, if the pattern is different from the original, describe that too. You might also say where you got the loom, how long it took to make your item, and if you had to experiment or repeat your work to get it right.

Final Words of Encouragement

Any documentation is better than no documentation. Anyone (of any age) (I am looking at you, adults!) can write the documentation for a project by following the ideas above. If writing is something that you find worrisome or difficult, start before your project is due. Like, now. Use short declarative sentences to tell your story. You will probably fill up less than a third of the page, so it won’t even take weeks to write.

Even though this may sound like it is written for children, adults can follow this outline also. You might provide more detail, or use more complicated words, or describe more completely the steps it took to produce your item, but the process is the same.

Finally, if anyone of any age would like help with their documentation, type up your first draft. You can bring it to practice on Sunday, or you can email it to me, and I would be happy to offer suggestions. My email is ansminister at debatablelands.org. Don’t delay, there is only one more week to the Iron Comet Challenge!

In service,

Elss Augsburg

A and S — Hand Sewing — Sunday, June 17th

June 17th!
Washington Blvd practice site!
1 PM!

This Sunday, Baroness Hildarun Hugelman will help us understand the fine points of hand sewing. How many stitches do you know? Which stitch is best for hems? or for side seams? or for gussets? Why?

Don’t just use the same stitch for all your projects, instead, understand what each stitch’s best use is. Your clothes will last longer, and you’ll have fewer clothing malfunctions!

Location: Washington Boulevard martial practice site
Address: Allegheny River Blvd and Washington Blvd.
Directions: http://www.debatablelands.org/martial/fight_directions.php
Time: 1 PM.

Standard disclaimers here:

We are now accessible to our less mobile friends, have free parking, and a pet-friendly site. Yay!

However, keep in mind that you should bring everything you need for your comfort including a chair, a beverage or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, cabana boy, musical instruments, sun umbrella, etc., etc., etc. Also, the site has a porta-john and no running water should you wish to make appropriate preparation.

I will have a table and a jug of water so that you can refill your water bottles or mugs.

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Thank you for asking! These meetings are free and there is no materials charge, as we are generously supported by the Barony and the teachers themselves.

It's the Art-Signal! Quick, to the Science-Mobile!
Arts & Sciences Meeting

See you there!

Elss Augsburg

A and S — Russian Garb — Sunday, June 10th

It's the Art-Signal! Quick, to the Science-Mobile!
Arts & Sciences Meeting

June 10th!
Washington Blvd practice site!
1 PM!

This time our meeting will focus on early period Russian garb. Luceta DiCosimo, our instructor, will post links in advance, and bring her laptop to show examples, and will translate info as needed. She is very knowledgeable, and is a very popular and engaging instructor.

Location: Washington Boulevard martial practice site
Address: Allegheny River Blvd and Washington Blvd.
Directions: http://www.debatablelands.org/martial/fight_directions.php
Time: 1 PM.

Standard disclaimers here:

We are now accessible to our less mobile friends, have free parking, and a pet-friendly site. Yay!

However, keep in mind that you should bring everything you need for your comfort including a chair, a beverage or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, cabana boy, musical instruments, sun umbrella, etc., etc., etc. Also, the site has a porta-john and no running water should you wish to make appropriate preparation.

I will have a table and a jug of water so that you can refill your water bottles or mugs.

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Thank you for asking! These meetings are free and there is no materials charge, as we are generously supported by the Barony and the teachers themselves.

See you there!  Elss Augsburg

A and S — Bardic Circle — Sunday, June 3rd

Bardic Circle!

June 3rd! Washington Blvd practice site, 1 PM!

Everyone is invited — bards, wanna-be bards, new people, choir members, band members, drummers, I-don’t-know-the-goddamn-words singers, loud singers, cowbell players, yes, you should come too. Can’t sing? Sit next to me, you’ll sound great! Instruments welcome, singers welcome, everybody welcome!

I will be bringing some printouts from here and elsewhere:   http://www.aebards.org/songs/. Alas, I will not be able to set up a campfire for us to sit around, but that means we can be free-form instead of circular!

Location: Washington Boulevard martial practice site
Address: Allegheny River Blvd and Washington Blvd.
Directionshttp://www.debatablelands.org/martial/fight_directions.php
Time1 PM.

Standard disclaimers here:

We are now accessible to our less mobile friends, have free parking, and a pet-friendly site. Yay!

However, keep in mind that you should bring everything you need for your comfort including a chair, a beverage or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, cabana boy, musical instruments, sun umbrella, etc., etc., etc. Also, the site has a porta-john and no running water should you wish to make appropriate preparation.

I will have a table and a jug of water so that you can refill your water bottles or mugs.

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Thank you for asking! These meetings are free and there is no materials charge, as we are generously supported by the Barony and the teachers themselves.

See you there!  Elss Augsburg

 

 

 

 

A and S — Making and Doing — May 27th

Are you illuminating a thing? Or weaving a thing? Are you finger-looping or knitting? Are you embroidering or sewing something?

Bring it to A & S tomorrow and get in a little work on it. Show what you are doing to all of the folks gathering for the SUPER-EXCITING meeting tomorrow!

NEW Standard disclaimers here:

Location: Washington Boulevard martial practice site
Address: Allegheny River Blvd and Washington Blvd.
Directionshttp://www.debatablelands.org/martial/fight_directions.php
Time12 PM-ish

We are much more accessible to our less mobile friends, have free parking, and a pet-friendly site. Yay!

However, keep in mind that you should bring everything you need for your comfort including a chair, a beverage or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, cabana boy, musical instruments, sun umbrella, etc., etc., etc. Also, the site has a porta-john and no running water should you wish to make appropriate preparation.

I will have a table and a jug of water so that you can refill your water bottles or mugs. Probably a snack, too. Brownies are speaking to me this week.

If you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Thank you for asking! These meetings are free and there is no materials charge, as we are generously supported by the Barony and the artists who teach the classes.

See you there!  Elss Augsburg

It's the Art-Signal! Quick, to the Science-Mobile!
Arts & Sciences Meeting